The Last Chance Saloon

Tara, Katherine, and Fintan, friends since adolescence, are full proof that eccentricity is the spice of life. Strikingly different, yet worryingly similar, they all moved from rural Ireland to London to "seize the day" - or something like that. Now in their early 30s, success, on the surface, has made little change.

The Brightest Star in the Sky

Fate is on its way to the tenants of 66 Star Street, bringing with it love and tragedy, friendship and heartbreak, and the power to change lives... One of them is falling in love; another is torn between two lovers. For some, secrets they want to stay buried will come to light, and for others, the unveiling of those secrets will have tragic consequences.

The Other Side of the Story

Jojo Harvey is a literary agent whose star is on the rise. In love with both her married boss and her burgeoning career, not much distracts her. Until she finds herself representing two women who used to be best friends. Used to be....

Sushi for Beginners

Lisa Edwards, top London magazine editor, has been fantasizing about promotion to New York. Instead, she's asked to launch a new women's magazine in Dublin. She thinks nothing could be worse - until she meets her new staff. They're friendly, helpful, and enthusiastic - in other words, they wouldn't last two minutes in London!

The Woman Who Stole My Life

One day, sitting in traffic, Stella Sweeney attempts a good deed. The resulting car crash changes her life. But in this event is born the seed of something which will take Stella thousands of miles from her old life, turning an ordinary woman into a superstar, wrenching her whole family apart. For the first time real, honest-to-goodness happiness is just within her reach. But is Stella Sweeney, Dublin housewife, ready to grasp it?

Making It up as I Go Along

You'll be wincing in recognition and scratching your head in incredulity, but like Marian herself you won't be able to stop laughing at the sheer delightful absurdity that is modern life - because each and every one of us is clearly making it up as we go along. She has wonderful and tickling words of advice for those fast approaching 50.

Under the Duvet

High heels, movie deals, wagon wheels, shoes, reviews, having the blues, builders, babies, families and other calamities... Many think that Marian leads a glitzy life of limos, television, and showbiz parties - but she would argue that she spends the majority of her life writing alone, wearing her PJs, and eating bananas with a laptop on a pillow in front of her. Under the Duvet is a wide collection of her journalism and stories, all personal, closely observed, and painfully funny...

The Missing Wife

Fans of Marian Keyes, Lisa Jewell and Santa Montefiore will love Sunday Times best-selling author Sheila O'Flanagan's The Missing Wife. Have you ever wanted to disappear? When Imogen Naughton vanishes, everyone who knows her is shocked. She has a perfect marriage. Her handsome husband treats her like a princess. She's always said how lucky she is. So why has she left? And how will she survive without Vince?

The Secrets of Happiness

Rachel and Becca are stepsisters living far apart, with little in common. Rachel is the successful one: happily married with three children and a big house. Becca, meanwhile, lurches from one dead-end job to another and has given up on love. The two of them have lost touch, but when Rachel doesn't come home one night, Becca is called in to help. As Becca begins to untangle Rachel's secrets, she is forced to confront some uncomfortable truths.

Caroline's Sister

To her younger sister, Tessa, Caroline O'Shaughnessy has everything - great looks, easy charm, and the distinctly desirable Damien Woods. But for Caroline, things don't feel quite so rosy. She'd dreamed about moving in with Damien but not about having his child just yet. And though he did the honourable thing when she told him she was pregnant, it obviously wasn't what he wanted either.

Staying at Daisy's

Staying at Daisy's from Sunday Times best-selling author Jill Mansell is essential reading if you love the novels of Cathy Kelly and Milly Johnson. Daisy MacLean runs the country house hotel owned by her flamboyant father, Hector. When she hears who's about to get married there, she isn't worried at all - her friend, Tara, absolutely promises there won't be any trouble between her and ex-boyfriend Dominic, whom she hasn't seen for years. But Dominic has other ideas....

Sunshine over Wildflower Cottage

Viv arrives at Wildflower Cottage, a tumbledown animal sanctuary, for the summer. Her job is to help with the admin, but the truth is she is here for something much closer to her heart.... Geraldine runs the Wildflower Cottage sanctuary. She escaped from her past to find happiness here, but now her place of refuge is about to come under threat. Can she keep her history at bay and her future safe? Back home, Viv's mother, Stel, thinks she might have found a man who will treat her right for once.

Further Under the Duvet

Slide "Further Under the Duvet", get yourself comfortable, and let Marian take you places you've never been before. Places like the Irish air-guitar championships, a shopping trip to Bloomingdales with a difference, and Cannes with a chronic case of Villa-itis. Along the way you'll encounter knicker-politics, fake tans, sticky-out ears and passionate love affairs both with make-up and Toblerones.

Solo

Solo is a delightful romantic novel from best-selling author Jill Mansell, not to be missed by readers of Lucy Diamond and Cathy Kelly. Mad about a man who's dangerous to know? Surely it's better to go solo.... When Tessa Duvall, a struggling artist, reluctantly agreed to accompany her best friend, Holly, to a party at the elegant Charrington Grange Hotel, she had every intention of sneaking off early.

Don't Want to Miss a Thing

An irresistible, heart-warming novel from the much-loved author of numerous Sunday Times best sellers, including A Walk in the Park and To the Moon and Back. Dexter Yates loves his fun, care-free London life; he has money, looks and girlfriends galore. But everything changes overnight when his sister dies, leaving him in charge of her eight-month-old daughter Delphi. How is he ever going to cope? Comic-strip artist Molly Hayes lives in the beautiful Cotswold village of Briarwood.

Miranda's Big Mistake

Readers of Lucy Diamond, Cathy Kelly and Milly Johnson will love Jill Mansell's touching best seller, Miranda's Big Mistake. Is he the answer to a single girl's prayers? Or is he Miranda's big mistake? Miranda is thrilled when she meets Greg at a cocktail party. He's gorgeous, he's funny - and he's very keen. Just what a girl needs to put some sparkle in her life. Heavens, he's practically perfect! Greg likes Miranda a lot. She's young, she's pretty, and she never talks about babies.

Making Your Mind Up

Lottie Carlyle faces a bittersweet romantic dilemma in Jill Mansell's engaging best seller, Making Your Mind Up - not to be missed by fans of Lucy Diamond and Milly Johnson. Lottie Carlyle isn't looking for love when she meets her new boss, Tyler Klein. Living in a beautiful cottage with her two adorable - sometimes - kids in an idyllic village in the Cotswolds, on good terms with her ex-husband and with friends all around, she's happy enough with her lot.

Open House

Open House is a deliciously engaging romantic novel from Jill Mansell, author of over 20 Sunday Times best sellers including The One You Really Want and Miranda's Big Mistake. For fans of Sophie Kinsella and Marian Keyes. Nell O'Driscoll has known Marcus Kilburton for years - according to her diary, she even had a crush on him as a teenager.

The Bookshop on Rosemary Lane

Take a trip to the Yorkshire village of Burley Bridge, where a very special little cookbook shop is about to open its doors.... In the beginning...Kitty Cartwright has always solved her problems in the kitchen. Her cookbooks are her life, and there isn't an issue that 'Cooking with Aspic' can't fix. Her only wish is that she had a book entitled Rustling Up Dinner When Your Husband Has Left You. Forty years later.... On Rosemary Lane, Della Cartwright plans to open a very special little bookshop.

Firefly Summer

Firefly Summer is warm, humorous, sad and happy. Reading it is a joy' Irish Independent In the summer of 1962, an American millionaire arrives in a small, sleepy Irish town with far-reaching consequences. For the children of the Ryan family, the long hot summers are usually spent playing in the ruins of a large, abandoned house.

Suddenly Single

What do you do when you find yourself suddenly single? Go suddenly suicidal? Suddenly sexcrazed? Or simply slump into self-pity? Alix Callaghan, who thought she was in control of her busy life, feels like doing all three when her long-term boyfriend insists on settling down to a sensible existence - complete with children, proper meals and early nights - but without her. Little by little, though, Alix begins to think there might be more to the single life than the first shock of rejection suggests...

The Peacock Emporium

The only place Suzanna Peacock finds comfort is her shop, which provides a haven for the misfits in town. But she is forced to confront events of the past and her family that have been haunting her for so long. And she discovers that the key to her happiness may have been in front of her all along....

The Year of Taking Chances

It's New Year's Eve, and at a house party, three women bond over dodgy cocktails and fortune cookies, and vow to make this year their best one yet. But as the months unfold, Gemma, Saffron, and Caitlin find themselves tested to their limits. Under pressure, they are each forced to rethink their lives. But dare they take a chance on something new?

The Undomestic Goddess

Samantha is a high-powered lawyer in London. She works all hours, has no home life, and cares only about getting a partnership. She thrives on the pressure and adrenalin. Until one day...she makes a mistake. A mistake so huge it'll wreck her career. She goes into meltdown, walks right out of the office, gets on the first train she sees, and finds herself in the middle of nowhere.

Publisher's Summary

The unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Marian Keye's heartbreaking stunner of a novel, The Mystery of Mercy Close, read by the actress Niamh Daly.

"I employ this thing called The Shovel List." "A shovel...?" "No. A Shovel List. It's more of a conceptual thing. It's a list of all the people and things I hate so much that I want to hit them in the face with a shovel."

Meet Helen - youngest of the Walsh sisters and a law unto herself. She's easily bored, has an inability to filter her thoughts and was fired from every job she ever had before she found her true calling as a private investigator. But times are tough for PIs, and Helen's had no choice but to take on the search for AWOL boyband has-been Wayne Diffney: The Wacky One. It's not all bad this game of Where's Wayne.

It may have brought her charming crook of an ex Jay Parker back into her life, but it's giving her an excuse to avoid the usual Walsh family dramas and the intense looks from her gorgeous boyfriend Artie that make her heart beat wildly with lust and panic in equal measure. But most of all it's an excellent distraction from the huge swarm of black vultures gathering over her head. If she hides out in her target's empty house on Mercy Close for long enough maybe they'll go away...But as Helen begins to unravel the mysteries secreted on Mercy Close she discovers a kindred spirit in a man unwilling to be found. Could someone be telling her to look a little closer to home?

I have just started this book and to be honest I'd rather have a tooth pulled. I have read all of M Keyes books loved them all!!! This novel is really hard work I'm not sure if it's the narrator her voice is awful highly irritating. Her depiction of the characters are flat boring and the male characters sound very similar.

I've given it one star as I said it's a struggle to press play to listen to a lifeless story. Maybe if I was reading this myself the characters would jump off the page as with her other novels. Listen to sample before you buy I say.

Yes, because although Marian Keyes has now written about every single Walsh sister, this is another funny story from one of my favourite authors. I suppose it is chick lit but it feels a bit more real and I love the Irish accents.

What other book might you compare The Mystery of Mercy Close to, and why?

It compares well to all the other Walsh sister books in that it is up to the same standard as those.

What does Niamh Daly bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Niamh brings the story to life. Excellent characterisation.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed a lot, sometimes out loud which did draw some glances on the street!

Quite an intriguing read, some dark places visited. Made me read more about mariane Keyes, and realised that she was writing from her own experiences. This made it all the more interesting. Amazing scarf reference/rant, and I agree...... You can NEVER have too many scarves!

It was funny but dealt with a serious issue in a sensitive but factual wayI thought Mammy Welsh was as funny as ever; some parts made me cry with laughter and one with sadness.A great read/listen - would recommend

What did you like best about this story?

All of it - hugely entertaining

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When we had to deal with the main characters severe depression and her almost indifference to dealing with her condition in any other way but following it through to the end in her own way

What started out as a very promising story and told really well was just a bit too drawn out for my liking. Just as you thought the mystery was going to be solved, the story reverted to the main character (the Private Detective) and took a while to get going again.

Would you be willing to try another book from Marian Keyes? Why or why not?

Will definitely try another Marian Keyes as I have enjoyed several of her other books.

What three words best describe Niamh Daly’s performance?

Very fitting for this book. The way she excitedly told the detective story then switched to a more fitting style to deal with depression was well executed.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

out of everything she's written, this flops (sorry Marian)

What was most disappointing about Marian Keyes’s story?

I know Marian has suffered major depression, I have too ... I empathise. But your fans have a certain level of fun, excitement + a smidge of naughty/dodgy behaviour of your characters to keep your fans amused.

But for the author to use the key protaganist, Helen, one of the Walsh sisters to go through severe depression and what she did, experienced etc. I felt Marian Keyes was using this character as a cathartic to go through her own experiences and issues.

Fair enough for her. But not for her readers/listeners .. we want to be enterained and pay to read/listen, and not feel we're sharing the same kind of mental overhaul she went through, and then she got paid tons of bucks to write this book.

If she wasnt a bestselling author, and sent this book to every publisher in the world, it wouldnt have been published by anyone.

Sorry, Marian, but its true, and deepdown you know this. You cant's turn out this kind of pap, when your fans have devoured your last 8 books with glee.

Which character – as performed by Niamh Daly – was your favorite?

the key character - Helen, Niamh was exciting and kept me listening, through a very predictable plod of a tale. It's not the narrater's fault that she had a bad read to narrate. Without her, I would've let it go and just skipped to the end within the 1st hour.

Could you see The Mystery of Mercy Close being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No

Any additional comments?

I know Marian has suffered major depression, I empathise. But your fans have a certain level of fun, excitement + a smidge of naughty/dodgy behaviour of your characters to keep your fans amused.

But for the author to use the key protaganist, Helen, one of the Walsh sisters to go through severe depression and what she did, experienced etc. I felt Marian Keyes was using this character as a cathartic to go through her own experiences and issues.

Fair enough for her. But not for her readers/listeners .. we want to be enterained and pay to read/listen, and not feel we're sharing the same kind of mental overhaul she went through, and then she got paid tons of bucks to write this book.

If she wasnt a bestselling author, and sent this book to every publisher in the world, it wouldnt have been published by anyone.

Sorry, Marian, but its true, and deepdown you know this. You cant's turn out this kind of pap, when your fans have devoured your last 8 books with glee.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Brenda

Gauteng, South Africa

04/03/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"Dark, Light and Altogether Wonderful"

I literally laughed out loud. Wonderfully entertaining, I enjoyed every minute of it.

There couldn’t have been a more perfect choice of narrator for this book. Niamh Daly did a remarkable job.

I highly recommend this book.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

myrthasg

13/11/12

Overall

Performance

Story

"A study on depression & a mystery"

The mystery part is good, you won't be able to decipher until almost the end, just a little bit ahead of the protagonist and then revising the clues said "of course!" but that is the fun, right ?

The depression... I believe it is done in order to illustrate how a person suffering from endogenous depression feels and her interaction with the rest of the world: family, friends, job,etc. And I think M.Keyes does a good job, The symptoms, failures and / or successes of the treatment are textbook. Reminded me of some of J. Picoult's novels (house rules, my sister keeper, handle with care etc.)

So, to me the achievement of this listen is that going thru this little mystery the listener learns the suffering of a person with e. depression and by knowing and understanding this terrible disease one becomes more respectful and compassionate towards these patients, at least that is what I believe.

Also I should point out that it is a shock this dark version of M.Keyes. there is this black humor and kind of bitter wit towards the world as it is now (mostly the economy). But again it is the color of the glass through which the protagonist watches said world.

The performer is great.Very, very good !

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Linda

Ceylon, SK, Canada

15/06/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"Interesting Detective I'd Say"

I am not a big fan of Helen Walsh but I had to respect the lady. She had her quirks for sure but managed to get the job done. I was particularly impressed with Marian Keyes' descriptions of depression and what it feels like to be in the throes of an illness that you can't seem to get a handle on. The inability to escape your own brain, is truly terrifying - truly - and as such resulting suicide attempts are not the result of any rational thought, simply a means to an end for true sufferers of depression or manic-depression.

Hats off to Marian Keyes for her unique glimpse into mental illness and her ability to convey that it is not a weakness of character but an ailment unto its own. Helen Walsh is no lightweight, she is a strong, confident woman.

The story of the band, well, I wasn't really into it but the rest kept me going. I really like this narrator too.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Anet

South Africa

10/03/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"Depression and Recession in Ireland"

Very well narrated, this novel gives a chilling insight into depression, and how the Irish experienced their fall from grace. While the plot was a little light, the narrative and wit, and the downward spiral of the heroine more than made up for it and perhaps that is ok. I loved the ending, and it wasn't that predictable after all! We are reminded that happiness it not a permanent state even if you don't suffer from depression.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Report Inappropriate Content

If you find this review inappropriate and think it should be removed from our site, let us know. This report will be reviewed by Audible and we will take appropriate action.